Autumn flashed by in a swirl of concerts, recordings and masterclasses. At the RNCM we kicked off our French Connections season which continues until the summer. We also held our largest ever New Music Northwest Festival in which I gave performances with the BBC Philharmonic, RNCM New Ensemble and RNCM Wind Orchestra over a fairly intense week! The BBC concert will be broadcast on Radio 3 on 20th January.

The Nottingham Philharmonic season kicked off with a brilliant performance of one my favourites - Nielsen's 5th Symphony. "You could feel the air crackle with energy and excitement throughout a performance full of turbulence and tension. The end of the first movement - with offstage drum and with clarinet perched high above the organ - was surely one of the most dramatic symphonic moments ever staged in the Albert Hall." Full review here.

At the RNCM we launched a new masterclass for wind & brass conductors which attracted participants from Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Italy, Portugal, USA and the UK. Trips to Norway and Singapore (in both cases not always at the same time as my luggage!) finished the year.